Benin: Yassine Agnikè Lassissi Appointed Technical Advisor for the Arts at the Ministry of Culture, Arts, and Heritage

Yassine Agnikè Lassissi is stepping down from her position as director of the Visual Arts Department at Benin’s Agency for the Development of Arts and Culture (ADAC) to join the office of Yassine Latoundji, Minister of Culture, Arts, and Heritage, as Technical Advisor on the Arts.

An art historian and independent curator who studied contemporary art history at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and management at the IAE Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne, Yassine Agnikè Lassissi began her career in Parisian galleries before co-directing an art space in Troyes. She then served as marketing manager at LC2 Médias, before founding and leading PREMYUM in Paris from 2010 to 2018, a consulting firm specializing in art market investments and the representation of contemporary artists.

In 2020, she became Artistic and Commercial Director of the National Gallery of Benin, which later merged with other institutions to become the Agency for the Development of Arts and Culture (ADAC). From 2023 until her recent appointment, she oversaw the contemporary art section of the exhibition “Art of Benin, Past and Present” in Cotonou, Rabat, Fort-de-France, and Paris (co-curated). She also served as associate curator of Benin’s first National Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2024, co-curator of Fashion Month 2025, and leads the urban art project for the Wall of the Autonomous Port of Cotonou. In addition, she serves on the scientific committee of the Musée du Continent in Rabat and on the planning committee for the Cotonou Museum of Contemporary Art (MACC).

A sought-after speaker, she has given talks at the Villa Medici in Rome, the Mohammed VI Museum in Rabat, the Clément Foundation in Martinique, Sciences Po Paris, at the Dakar Art Book Fair, and at the African Artists in Venice Forum; for the past few years, she has been supporting young Beninese artists in promoting their work.

In addition, Yassine Agnikè Lassissi was awarded the title of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters of the French Republic in December 2025.